


for so long

by roguewrath (purqatory)



Series: cliff's edge [4]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Gen, One Shot, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-13 00:51:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11173557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purqatory/pseuds/roguewrath
Summary: forcassian weekday one: favorite scene on tumblr (the format inspired by posts/fics of the character study of one cassian andor)btw please readgrey areasby theputterer it is a 49 chapter masterpiece on cassian





	for so long

**Author's Note:**

> this does not cover the rebel rising story and the scene is taken from the rogue one novelization and the film  
> come find me on tumblr !!  
> [back to my essays, thanks for the distraction]

_Liana_ Hallik makes the vein under his eye jump. He charts her features, her appearance and her clothing as he is trained to, and he only inspects her from head to toe once.

Draven is standing over her, his stance hostile and Cassian can see that Mon Mothma's gaze scrutinising the general, instead of the girl Cassian has been looking for these past few weeks. The way the girl is staring at Draven - head cocking to the side, her whole face relax but defiance framing her irises - this is going to irritate. 

"Possession of unsanctioned weapons, forgery of Imperial documents, aggravated assault, escape from custody, resisting arrest... Imagine if the Imperial authorities had found out who you really were.... Jyn Erso?" Cassian looks up.

Her confirmation settles in his stomach; to him, now, finding Jyn Erso seems the easiest of chores, the next phase of the mission looms, as Draven crosses him and towards the girl."That's your given name, is it not?"

It must be so long since she has heard her name aloud because Liana Hallik - the woman - _Jyn Erso_ \- betrays herself by flinching; she raises her chin from her chest, and her jaw angles. 

"Jyn Erso? Daughter of Galen Erso? A know Imperial collaborator in weapons development." And he continues to grate at Jyn Erso, tearing down her identities and displaying the corpses for all around the interrogation to see, of how powerful the Alliance is, of how competent he himself is in successfully capturing a bargaining chip. Cassian is right about Draven: his words are smug, like a loth-cat devouring its prey. Underneath the shadows, Cassian shakes his leg out. 

Mothma enters the bunker, then, and he sees Erso straighten. 

"What is this?" In those words, Cassian can hear her temper, and wonders how long she has been keeping it in. 

"It's a chance for you to make a fresh start," Mothma, always the pacifier and Cassian senses irritation oozing from Draven. "We think you might be able to help us."

She doesn't back up in her chair, Cassian will give her that: "Who are you?"

Draven is having a bad 1200, "You _know_ who she is." 

Mothma introduces herself, and Erso's eyes widened slightly. In return, Erso says, "There's a bounty on your head." Cassian snorts quietly. He trusts his gut once again - _fight and flight, she does both only to make sure she stays alive_ -

"This is Captain Cassian Andor," and he walks up, "Rebel Alliance Intelligence." 

As he steps into the light, Cassian stutters, because she is all he can see.

He sees her in his investigations, he sees her in the briefs, and he sees her in his dreams. The last grainy, known photograph of her - taken from the labor camp log, looking gaunt and her eye was swollen - is burned into Cassian's brain, but as she appears, in the flesh, the red from her high cheekbones to her temples bringing the hint of life into her, and she suddenly isn't a mission, or a target, but a person. 

Cassian doesn't know what to think of this. He doesn't know what he can take from this. 

So he keeps a few feet between them: she can lunge and the work he has done, the favours he had put in and traded, will be for nought. She is the more concrete threat, right at this moment, than anything else.

"When was the last time you were in contact with your father?" His question snaps, quick.

"Fifteen years ago." It muddles up with the timeline on the record, but this is her version.

He changes the tactic: she is too smart to be lead, so straight to the bone it is. "Any idea where he's been all this time?" 

"I like to think he's dead," she replies; and shrugs a shoulder, "Make things easier." 

 _Jyn Erso_ programs the muscle on his neck to tick. "Make things easier." he echoes. "Easier than what? Than him being a tool of the Imperial war machine?" Using the word _Tool_ puts Galen Erso on the Alliance's side, and it is for her sake, for her to open up; the word comes out, laced with spite. 

"I've never had the luxury of political opinions." Erso says, giving a glance towards Mon Mothma. 

 _Political opinions!_ \- names of dead soldiers betrayed by Gerrera's men in the name of the Rebellion flashes across his eyes; he is not qualified to condemn blame, but Erso is here, is here to find Saw Gerrera and she is the closest thing he can hurl towards the rogue rebel leader. "Really? When was your last contact with Saw Gerrera?" 

Her eyes - more green in the light of the room - swivels back to him. "It's been a long time." 

 _You were not born when it became_ a long time _for me._ "He'd remember you, though, wouldn't he? He might agree to meet you, if you came as a friend." Cassian slides the words from his mouth with a sharper edge and it hits its mark: Erso openly argues with her own mind, her eyes falling to her restraint wrists. 

"- So if there's nothing to talk about, we'll just put you back where we found you." Draven is saying, and it throws Cassian off. Jyn Erso' eyes tells him she _fights_ , but -

"I was a child," Jyn Erso gives up, in a rush, a glimpse into the protégé her mentor abandoned in the end, "Saw Gerrera saved my life. He raised me. But I've no idea where he is. I haven't seen him in years." 

"We know how to find him," Cassian cuts through, "That's not our problem. What we need is someone who gets us through the door without being killed." His tone is urging, and he knows he means more than just for Saw's connections. 

She looks bewildered. "You're all rebels, aren't you?"

"Yes, but Saw Gerrera's an extremist. He's been fighting his own war for quite some time," Mothma says, "We have no choice but to try and mend that broken trust." 

Cassian watches her front teeth sink into her lip, running roughly across the bow: "What does this have to do with my father?"

Cassian proceeds at Mothma's nod. "There's an Imperial defector in the Holy City of Jedha. A pilot. He's being held by Saw Gerrera," he pauses so Erso has to direct her eyes to him; he makes sure their eyes meet. "He's claiming the Emperor is creating a weapon with the power to destroy entire planets."

"That's a terrible lie," she says; her chest rises as she chokes out a laugh.

Cassian's toes curl. If she still has a heart - something in Cassian's gut tells him she does, and she only pretends she doesn't -

Mothma continues - a rehearsal, a prologue: to convince people of the unthinkable. "You're right, though. If this were just about Saw Gerrera, we would have other approaches."

"The pilot," Mothma's attitude towards Jyn Erso is baffling to Cassian, and he shoves the thought to the back of his mind so his leg doesn't flex. "the one Gerrera has in custody?"

"What about him?" she retorts.

"He says he was sent by your father." This thing twists in his chest, for he is next to drive the stake deeper into Jyn Erso's wounds and he sees the hurt in her eyes and watches as her soul fights to flee.

"We need to stop this weapon before it is finished." Mothma says, and Jyn Erso wipes her hands on her lap; Jyn Erso ignores Draven's voice, cataloging the room, "Captain Andor's mission is to authenticate the pilot's story," - Cassian moves slightly, ready to pounce on her if she ever decides to go for it - "-and then, if possible, find your father."

Cassian hardly remembers the time when the word _Father_ visibly haunts him the way it clearly does Jyn Erso. 

Mothma pretends she doesn't see it. "It would appear Galen Erso is critical to the development of this superweapon. Given the gravity of the situation and your history with Saw, we're hoping that Saw will help us locate your father and return him to the Senate for testimony." 

"And if I do it?" Erso asks, a reflex, almost in defeat. 

"We'll make sure you go free." Mothma's tone is neutral, gentle and un-compromising. 

 _Good_. Cassian watches as Jyn Erso recognises her worth. She inhales, and Cassian almost dares to tell her not to get her hopes up, in a patronising way, just a hint.  _Join the ranks, line up_ , the part of him wants to drawl, _you will have_ that _luxury now_.

"Your flight out of Yavin is at 0600," Draven says, and lays his datapad near where Jyn Erso can see. "You will be escorted back to your cell until then."

Cassian looks with her. That face:  _Liana Hallik. Tanith Pontha. Kestrel Dawn. Jyn Erso._ The list of her crimes that has warranted a life-sentence at Wobani. Her birth place. Her mother's death. Her father's existence, a question mark. Her history with Saw and the assumption as to when she was left behind. Her own fate - is not hers, never was, never will be. Unless the pilot isn't a ploy, unless _she_ doesn't get anyone else killed. 

Draven turns to follow Mothma away from the interrogation. "Captain Andor will show you the way."

Cassian's arms clasps behind him, and nods at his superiors' backs; fully aware Jyn Erso is his responsibility now. It weighs heavy, and there's no clear point of the end. 

 _No_ , _I can't_ , he thinks, but his hand gestures her towards the exit, _because_   _I don't even know where I'm - where we're going._


End file.
